The new cultivar is the product of a planned breeding program under the direction of the inventors, David Kerley, Priscilla Kerley, Sarah Kerley, and Timothy Kerley, all citizens of the United Kingdom. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new, compact pot-type Primula vulgaris cultivars with abundant double flowers for commercial ornamental purposes. The new cultivar resulted from crossing of the seed parent, the unpatented, proprietary variety Primula vulgaris ‘08-225-3’, and the pollen parent, the unpatented, proprietary variety Primula vulgaris ‘08-170-1’. The selection of the new variety ‘Kerbelcarmen’ was made in February 2010, by the inventors at a research greenhouse located in Cambridge, UK.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘KERBELCARMEN’ by division was first performed at the same research greenhouse in Cambridge, UK during September of 2010, by division and tissue culture. Both methods have shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.